Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor receives encouraging injury update before Oklahoma game

Mississippi State was shut out 31-0 at LSU last Saturday while Kamario Taylor watched from the sideline with a boot on his right foot. The Bulldogs finished with 291 total yards and 121 passing yards behind freshman Parker “Billy” Puckett, who was making his first career start.

“He didn’t wake up yesterday morning and was healed,” Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said Monday.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Friday that Taylor is expected to dress and attempt to play when the Bulldogs host Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network. Thamel also reported that Taylor took significantly more snaps in practice this week. Mississippi State has not publicly detailed the injury, which Thamel described as a foot and toe issue.

Sources: Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor is expected to attempt to play against Oklahoma on Saturday. He didn’t dress for the game at LSU last week, as he’s dealing with a foot/toe injury. He’s received significantly more snaps in practice this week, and is expected to dress and attempt to play.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 23, 2026

How different is Mississippi State’s offense without Taylor?

Taylor has thrown for 1,450 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions in five games, completing 66.2% of his passes. Against LSU, Puckett went 16 of 26 for 121 yards with an interception and was sacked three times. Lebby said after the game that Taylor had worked hard to get back but was not quite ready to play.

Oklahoma’s defense allows 260.7 yards per game, fifth-fewest in the country, and it arrives in Starkville for the programs’ first-ever meeting with little help from its own offense. The Sooners rank last in the SEC in total offense at roughly 311 yards per game. John Mateer threw three interceptions in last week’s 21-13 home loss to Kentucky, giving him seven in six games, and Oklahoma sits at minus-8 in turnover margin.

Oklahoma is 3-3 and 1-2 in the SEC. Mississippi State is 4-2 and 2-2, and it entered the LSU game ranked No. 16 before the shutout handed it a second straight loss. In a game between a strong defense and an offense that keeps giving the ball away, the quarterback with the cleaner turnover record holds an obvious edge, and that quarterback is Taylor, with four interceptions in five games against Mateer’s seven in six. Puckett’s lone start produced no points against LSU.

Taylor carried a questionable tag on this week’s first SEC availability report, the same designation he held early in LSU week. That week, he was downgraded to doubtful the night before the game and ruled out 90 minutes before kickoff.

“It’s going to be day-to-day. He’s got a lot of work to do, but we’ll see where we end up,” Lebby said in the same Monday news conference.